Besides sewing together my behemoth Sampler Afghan, I have been working on a new summery project - the Lelah top. I had some Cascade Pima Silk in my stash that I had tried using for a project before and ripped, and it seems to be working great for this:
I really like a few of the new top-down summer top patterns in the new Knitty posted today.
My favorite is Gemini. I think it's ok for me to repost pics here as I'm also linking to the page where the pattern and source pics can be found.
In some sort of record (at least for a while) I am blogging two days in a row. In some other kind of record, I'm finally showing some in-process knitting projects. I must be getting back to normal. For so long, I just had no motivation to do anything because my energy was just completely sapped. I even have started up a new urban incarnation of the KIB later this month!!! I'm really excited about that, and about talking to everyone again.
So enough blablabla yadayadayada. Let's get to the knitting.
First up, Mary Jane (a Zephyr Style design that I started back in November with some Madelinetosh DK.) I actually finished this some time last month and didn't like the puffy sleeves on me, so I am reknitting them. I have the 1st one in process of reknitting and have not unwound the second one yet.
Whole sweater view:
close up of the neckline and subtle variegation of the yarn
First sleeve in process, that I am reknitting
As originally knit (cute, but not suited to me)
and my new knitting project, Eyelet Cardigan, a knit along of sorts that I started with my friend Carrie before I left for Cancun. The pattern is another one from Custom Knits 2 from my BFF Wendy B, and I'm making it in Cascade Pima Tencel.
It feels good to be blogging again, and I really like using my iPad to do it! I was able to upload my pictures quickly via the adapter thing I bought, type the whole post using the wireless keyboard and quickly copy and paste code from Flickr into the post. All while listening to my music collection on iCloud on my Apple TV. I've been assimilated.
I am back to blogging! I have been working on a top-down sweater called Mary Jane, that was published originally in Twist Collective but was designed by the ladies at Zephyr Style (always known for their fun, top-down knitting candy!) Here are pics I was able to take before work. The yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh DK. More later, I'm starting slow :)
Long time no post - I finished Rocky Coast, but the sleeves came out freakishly small, even after blocking, so I have to reknit those or find someone with very skinny arms to give it to!
Here is my latest project - Mary Jane, designed by the Zephyr Style gals.
I'm using Madelinetosh Tosh TK in "Oxblood" for this and making the 32" size. Usually I'm not a big fan of puffy sleeves but they aren't too extreme, and I think they will be cute on this.
close-up of the "snakeskin" stitch pattern
I started this the day before Thanksgiving (a few days before we went to Cancun) and separated the sleeves off on the plane trip home last Wednesday. So it's moving fairly fast, considering that I haven't been seriously knitting on it. I gave up on finishing the Sampler Afghan before Christmas, but I have all of it knit and about 75% of it sewn together. There's a huge border that has to be done around the entire blanket, though, and it's become a very un-portable project, so I can't really work on it much.
I finished the body (without the ribbing for the collar, which comes last) of my Rocky Coast Cardigan. Now I have to work on the sleeves. Here it is so far. I used a pale green shade of Rowan Kid Classic for it, a somewhat unconventional choice but I wanted it to be somewhat light and airy like the pattern pictures show. I've never seen the original yarn, The Fibre Company Organik, that they used for it, but I thought Kid Classic was a good fit.
I recently started Cardigan Bay Jacket from the new Fall issue of Interweave Knits. I'm using Tess Cultivated Silk & Wool held double with size 15s to get the chunky gauge, which is working out really nicely with the moss stitch as it has a silky sheen to it.
I love that it's knit seamlessly from the top down - always a great attribute in a pattern! I plan to skip the buttons but make the belt and belt loops to make it an opening layering piece.
I decided I needed to get my knitting mojo back as it has been sadly missing for a long time. I had previously thought that I needed to work on "mindless" projects that didn't need much concentration, wrongly thinking that this was all I could handle. This didn't work very well because I didn't get the benefit of "unwinding" and focusing on nothing else for awhile but the project at hand. Also I've been making (starting) a lot of things with cotton yarns and they're just not that inspiring.
So I decided to depart from my usual MO in a number of ways. First, I decided to give myself permission to go shop in my yarn closet and find something that really inspired me. For me it was my Tess Cultivated Silk & Wool in a beautiful Caribbean-sea turquoise. Next, I decided to make something that didn't need to be monitored constantly for fit, and was just "pretty" for its own sake. I decided on the Frost Diamonds Shawl by one of my favorite designers, Stefanie Japel.
Here it is, in process! I've had a lot of fun working on this for the past few days. I started it last Saturday and worked on it by the pool over the long holiday weekend, as we had great weather.
As promised, here is a progress pic of my latest knitting project that I started about a week ago.
The pattern is "Elphaba" by Mary Annarella (marymealittle on Ravelry) and the yarn is RYC Silk Wool DK in "Sorrell", a sort of olivish-brownish-goldish color that doesn't photograph really accurately.
I'm using a DK weight yarn instead of fingering weight, so I'm knitting the 29" size to yield about 33". I just didn't have the strength for a fingering weight sweater right now, but I really wanted to make this. It will be good airplane and train knitting for my trip to Germany next week. Our offices are about 2 hours from Frankfurt on the train so there will be planes, trains and automobiles involved!
2nd finished sweater for August - Alexandria!
Front
Close-Up
Side
Back - I think it needs pressing or something!
Pattern: Alexandria Cardigan by Connie Chang Chinchio
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft Baby DK
Size: 34.75" (about 1/2" positive ease)
Mods: none except sleeve length
Verdict: great layering piece to transition between seasons - could work with jeans as well as over a dress or top/skirt combo! If I could do it over again, although the Cashsoft Baby DK was ohsosoft to work with, I'd have picked a crisper, probably cotton blend yarn for it to better show the great stitch pattern and have it lay flatter. Maybe I need to block it more aggressively, though.
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